The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1887-02-03
SHILOH'S BEGINNING.
GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF THE
FEDERALS IN CAMP.

A Quiet Evening and a Glorious Daw1
AT $50 in the MOrning-A SHARP
81 Musketry Fire-The Battle Begun
81 Surprised.
81 Early on Saturday, April 5, 1862, we
passed Savannah, the headquarters OF the
general commanding; at noon we made
fast to Pittsburg Landing. About an
8 hour afterward we landed, or rather
marched up the steep bluff, and encamped
q 300 feet south of the landing. Four com
= panies, with our ammunition and tents,
were sent forward to the advance of the
81 whole army, extreme left of Pentiss di-
q vision. l was appointed Immediately
g "off1cer of the day" of the remaining six.
g This was our first day upon the soil of
81 Tennessee.
81 Soon as we had selected our quarters"
g upon the smooth grass, with the fair
9 blue sky overhead, we set about getting
8 something to eat and drink. The night
s. soon fell and, as its shades began to creep
s from the east the merry soldiers near the
8 landing departed for their respective regi-
8 ments; the stove was closed; the suffers
g under canvas let down "the flies" and
81 covered up their truck; the men riding
q horses trotted into the budding woods;
s. The shades grew nearer, but all was
&quiet, save an occasional shot to the
81 >cuthwest. This. and only this, broke
s. lie stiffness Of the early evening of the
g we of the battle of Shiloh.
s. Not a sound of battle upon the air, no
a isiOn of tO-morrow's strife mingled with
g lie first SAUNDERS of the Union thou
s sands as they gathered their blankets
s. round them and sank into sweet, sOoth-
q GE sleep on the night of the 9Th of April.
q lSt2. In the morning the rustling of
a .arness, the patter of the mules, indicated
Hthat those useful, hardy animals were re-
g re5hed; yet the darkness was still in
Etense
81 A GLORIOUS DAWN.
q A loud whinny from a big gray horse
s belonging to one of our field officers
s. startled me. l jumped up, and there be-
s. yOnd the Tennessee beheld glorious a
q dawn as ever morta eyes beheld. In a
s. few moments the sun rose over the dusky
6 landscape and rent the network Of night.
s. Birds tWittered and sang III the recesses
s. of the ash and the eims; the camp was
g awak ening-ah! Billy Burke climbs into
8 a wagon little distance to the south
s ward, and with his polished copper bugle
e sounds the reveilie as 1t was never heard
g before in the army of the Tennessee. The
s last notes of the bugie had scarcely rolled
#away in grand reverberations when the
8thud of dozen axes were heard prepar
Sing fuel for the matutinaI meal. Six
zhundred men making their tOilet al frescO
Swas a curious scene. 1t was the first
Etime they had to sleep upon the ground
8 and dress" in public. Alas! it was the last
night and first of more than a score of
& these jocund hearts, who kept bantering
2each other upon the mirror he was using,
the kind of soap he had and the scent of
3 the oil he put into his hair.
S 1t was fully $50 o'clock in the morning
Iwhen we set out toward our camp We
8 didn't know where it lay. We didn't ask
*many questions about it as we briskly
marched alongt trough Hurlbut's division
8 The boys were making al fresco toillettes;
Sthe camp kettles hung over a thousand
q fires and the veterans" crowded to the
Send of their company streets" and
kfraternally gave the newcomers
Ta warm welcome by clapping of
hands, and the usual inquiry: What
sregiment?" what state?" "BulIy for
xyou" etc. But no preparation to repel an
Fenemy. We had barely cleared the line :
GOT tents when a sharp musketry fire was
4 heard on our right. Diminishing" was
Ethe remark. A laugh followed. We con- /
stinued onward; we saw a number of tents :
sthrough the trees to our right; more on
Sour left. Filing abruptly from the road :
ulating land and soon after halted upon :
s he ridge of an orchard, at the base of !.
shich bright stream ran gurgling to :.
he river.
THE BATTLE BEGUN.
Again the muskets rang out. The gen !,
RAILS horse reared and almost threw the !;
{ ider, who slightly changed color as he ]
firmly held the reins and guided the
1 frightened animal, which Immediately D
flashed into the thicket on the right, fol-
owed by the ide-de-camp. He was Ben +
Prentiss, of Quincy, Ills. !:
The general had hardly gone 100 yards B
when the diminishing" and the Z
picket firing" burst into a ter
rific roar of cannon. We were about &
D pitch our tents, when from the woods 3
/ II the other side of the stream a volley i
anne over our heads which sounded like /:
he whirring of partridge. We heard no 8
liot in our Immediate front We saw no i
he To fall in, take our muskets and re- /.
re by the left flank down a ravine and 4
cend into an opening was the work of a {
w moments.
The battle of Shiloh had begun. About s
o'clock p. NJ, after long tramp in the q
,un, we moved forward ana halted. Am
ulances passed us with their freight of 4
,uman suffering, and blood oozing from &
lie floor joints Forward and halt 3
i2ain IOf Ul0 OFQ6F. Slll1 Cn6 guns GnuQ- y
cred and the wounded were borne past s
us pale and pOwerless, but tenderly cared y
or by all. Forward once more. Halt =
and lie dow. A sudden volley on our left s
oCnd it's way to our front. In an instant g
we were on our feet The first man to {,
all was the color bearer, but he rallied
IN the instant, while the blood from his
forehead tinged the flag he held with an B
ron grip. He was carried to the rear
after being relieved In front and flank
the enemy poured brisk fire into our
ranks which cut us down by the score. 1t =
was Breckenridge's brigade against a reg
iment A battery on our right opened on
the enemy, but he steadily advanced,
while we suienly retired, badly ham
|mered it is true, with the red flag - a
Louisiana regiment in advance, whose
bearer seemed to have a charmed life s
Near this place and about this time of the
day Gen. Albert Sidney Johnson fell 8
ImOrtally wounded. We were the last
troops brought into line of battle on the S
left on the first day.-Ex-Consul Terrell
in Philadelphia Times